Clinical and Pathological Aspects of Cystic Disease of the Renal Medulla: An Analysis of Eighteen Cases

Abstract

Cysts of the medullary portions of the kidney may occur in a variety of circumstances. For the most part they are either asymptomatic or present no clearly recognizable clinical syndromes, although certain types may have characteristic radiologic findings.

The disorder to be discussed is characterized by the insidious onset of anemia, salt wasting, and azotemia, for the most part in the absence of urinary abnormality and without elevation of blood pressure. Bone disease may be prominent in children. The examples following are illustrative.

ILLUSTRATIVE CASESSALT-WASTING

Twenty years ago a young man died almost 4 years after the first symptoms